INDUSTRY EMEA: RECENT DEVELOPMENTS
Take a look at the recent industrial developments in the EMEA region.
ANALOG DEVICES AND FLAGSHIP PIONEERING TO ACCELERATE THE DEVELOPMENT OF A FULLY DIGITIZED BIOLOGICAL WORLD
Analog Devices and Flagship Pioneering, the bioplatform innovation company, announced a strategic alliance to accelerate the development of a fully digitized biological world. This partnership will bridge ADI’s expertise in engineering for analog and digital semiconductors with Flagship Pioneering’s expertise in applied biology to foster the discovery of biological insights, new and enhanced measurements, diagnostics, and novel interventions. The partnership represents the opportunity to create breakthrough solutions for human health and sustainability.
Specifically, the partnership will leverage Flagship Pioneering’s unique innovation process and ADI’s cutting-edge semiconductor technologies, signal processing portfolio and physical world domain expertise to unlock deeply disruptive solutions and create new companies in the digital biology space. Initial areas of focus will include bioelectronic platforms, regenerative agriculture, novel applications of AI/ML, and preemptive health and medicine. Potential advancements may further drive next-generation protein sequencing, multiomics, early disease diagnostics, transformation of large biological information to actionable digital data, drug design and optimization, and more. This partnership is the latest in Flagship Pioneering’s Enabling Technologies Initiative, which is focused on the development of new therapeutic modalities by enabling and powering advanced technologies.
The partnership will be fueled by Flagship Pioneering’s origination process for pioneering and scaling novel technologies and/or biological insights that have led to new types of therapeutic modalities such as mRNA, tRNA, and epigenetic controllers. ADI’s current applications of sensor technologies, microfabrication technologies, and automation for healthcare including diagnostics, imaging, therapeutic devices, and continuous monitoring will underpin the combinatorial innovation driven through this engagement. Flagship Pioneering’s scientist-entrepreneurs will partner with ADI’s scientists and engineers to conceive and create new bioplatforms that build on capabilities to bridge biology and technology, advancing novel human health and sustainability innovations.
AIR LIQUIDE TO INVEST IN RENEWED PARTNERSHIP WITH AURUBIS FOR MORE SUSTAINABLE GAS SUPPLY IN BULGARIA AND GERMANY
Air Liquide will invest approximately 100 million euros to supply Aurubis AG, a leading global provider of non-ferrous metals and one of the largest copper recyclers worldwide, in Bulgaria and in Germany. This investment will cover a new Air Separation Unit (ASU) in Bulgaria and the modernization of four existing units in Germany.
In addition to providing large volumes of oxygen and nitrogen for the increasing production of copper and other metals by Aurubis, these plants will also support the development of Industrial Merchant markets in both regions. A crucial element of the energy transition, copper is in growing demand to support urbanization, emission-free mobility, digitalization and is notably used to make the cables which can connect new wind and solar farms to power grid infrastructures. A significant part of copper production is recycled, which improves its carbon and energy footprint in a circular economy approach.
Located in Western Bulgaria, the new ASU will replace older units to produce increased volumes of oxygen and nitrogen for our long-standing partner Aurubis. It will also produce argon for Industrial Merchant markets across Europe. The plant is planned to be operational in 2027. This state-of-the-art new ASU will consume 7% less electricity than the ASUs it will replace. Aurubis and Air Liquide will work together so that part of the energy needed to run the site will be of renewable origin. This has the potential to save substantial CO2 emissions every year.
In Germany, Air Liquide will revamp its existing four Air Separation Units on Aurubis premises. These ASUs supply Aurubis with oxygen and nitrogen for the production of copper and other precious metals, and serve the Industrial Merchant and Healthcare markets in Northern Germany. The revamping of the ASUs is planned in close coordination with the customer requirements and to be finished in 2027. This operation will continue the reliable supply of industrial gases.
The Al Dhafra PV2 Solar project in Abu Dhabi – for which ABB supplies automation and optimization power generation solutions – is now exporting 100 percent of its designed capacity onto the grid. Covering an area of 20 square km in the Al Dhafra region, located around 30 km south of Abu Dhabi City, the 2 GW plant uses four million solar modules to generate enough electricity for 200,000 homes across the UAE per year. It will also help reduce Abu Dhabi’s annual CO2 emissions by more than 2.4 million metric tons, the equivalent of removing approximately 470,000 combustion cars from the roads.
ABB was appointed by China Machinery Engineering Corporation (CMEC), the Engineering, Procurement and Construction contractor for the facility – the world’s largest single-site photovoltaic project. The plant is pivotal to the UAE Energy Strategy which aims to triple the share of renewables by 2030 as part of a goal to increase clean energy and reduce carbon emissions from power generation to achieve net zero by 2050.\
Leveraging ABB Ability™ Symphony Plus, a distributed control system designed to maximize plant efficiency and reliability through automation, ABB is integrating inputs into a single user-friendly overview. As a result, operators can utilize data insights from all areas of the plant, delivered in real-time, to drive efficiency, reduce risk and ensure production optimization. Operational excellence is further enhanced through the supply of ABB digital, electrical and telecom solutions including metering and solar process modelling.
Al Dhafra PV2 marks ABB’s first solar project in the UAE and reflects ABB’s continued drive to increase its automation and digital footprint in the region’s expanding renewable energy market.
ANDRITZ TO DESIGN CARBON CAPTURE PLANT FOR WESTENERGY, FINLAND
ANDRITZ has been selected to perform the front-end engineering design (FEED) for a large-scale carbon capture unit for Westenergy’s waste-to-energy plant in Mustasaari, Finland.
The order was received from ECCU Ltd, a joint venture of Westenergy Ltd, CPC Finland Oy and funds managed by Prime Capital AG. The aim is to capture all the carbon dioxide from the flue gases of the Mustasaari waste-to-energy plant, which produces district heating and electricity from sorted, non-recyclable municipal waste. The captured carbon dioxide will be liquefied, and a large portion will be made available to produce carbon-neutral synthetic e-fuels.
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As the FEED contractor, ANDRITZ will refine the carbon capture plant concept and prepare the design documentation as a basis for the joint venture’s final investment decision. The concept will place a focus on the optimal integration of the carbon capture process into the waste-to-energy plant to maximize the utilization of available heat and the reuse of residues in a closed loop.
The joint venture plans to decide on the implementation of the project in early 2025.
The carbon captured at Westenergy's plant would be supplied to a power-to-x plant planned to be built in Kristinestad, Finland, to produce synthetic e-fuel from green hydrogen and carbon dioxide. ANDRITZ also provided the FEED for the green hydrogen plant for the Kristinestad project.
FORVIA AND BYD EXPAND STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP TO EUROPE THROUGH FUTURE COOPERATION IN HUNGARY
FORVIA and the Chinese automaker BYD will expand their partnership into Europe. Building on their successful collaboration in Asia, the two companies will now operate together in Hungary, where FORVIA will spearhead the launch of BYD's first footprint in the region.
This announcement follows the recent inauguration of a seat assembly plant in Thailand, further consolidating the partnership that began in 2017 with the establishment of the joint venture Faurecia Automotive Parts Co., majority-owned by FORVIA.
Over the past seven years, this partnership has fostered extensive cooperation, leading to the opening of seven plants across China and the development of a dedicated R&D center in Shenzhen.
According to BYD, the brand will enter the club of 10 million vehicle makers, the globalization is its next step’s key priority. The globalization strategy can’t be conducted without a global supply chain, FORVIA will play an irreplaceable role on it.
This is the main motivation for BYD to raise recently its established strategic cooperation, the BYD Hungary project will be led by FORVIA to ensure the smooth project launching.
KBR'S BLUE AMMONIA TECHNOLOGY SELECTED FOR SHELL BLUE HORIZONS PROJECT IN OMAN
KBR announced its blue ammonia technology has been selected by Shell for its Blue Horizons low-carbon hydrogen and ammonia project in Duqm, Oman. The facility will utilize KBR’s leading ammonia synthesis loop technology to deliver cost-competitive and low-carbon intensity ammonia.
Under the terms of the contract, KBR will provide licensed proprietary engineering design for the 3,000 metric tons per day ammonia plant utilizing hydrogen produced by Shell’s Blue Hydrogen technology.
“We are excited to work with Shell on this breakthrough project in Oman and contribute towards achieving Oman’s Vision 2040 targets,” said Jay Ibrahim, President, KBR Sustainable Technology Solutions. “Our blue ammonia technology allows our clients to implement their energy transition projects with a cost-competitive solution at the lowest carbon intensity.”
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